Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of the characters. I do have some of my own characters popped in here and there...

I deleted the first chapter, as it has nothing to do with the rest of the story. If you want it back, leave a review or PM me. The story now starts on the airship, after leaving Kazus with a disagreeable hitchhiker... Enjoy! ^-^

Luneth shook his head, staring at the ground below as he adjusted the airship's course. "But Arc, what in Ur possessed you to go off without me? If the ghosts had been violent..."

"Look Luneth, I don't always need you!" Arc huffed, bristling at his friend's overprotectiveness. Seeing Luneth's crestfallen expression, he sighed. "...But thanks for going after me. I don't know if I would have been able to walk home without..."

"It's okay," Luneth replied immediately, his spirits returning. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"You guys are sick. Talking about friendship and being cheerful all the time..." Refia glared at the two boys from her seat in the far back corner of the airship. Wrapping her arms tighter around her knees, she continued. "All my friends are ghosts now, so show some respect."

Arc looked over at her guiltily. "Sorry... I guess I didn't think about that. But we weren't trying to be mean."

"Yeah! We were having a private conversation that you butted in on!" Luneth turned his chin upwards, spinning the steering wheel with an air of superiority. Arc noticed his fingers clench tighter on the wood, a sure sign his friend was ticked off.

"What's up with him?" Refia muttered darkly. "Oi! Did you leave your manners at home, with your flock of loving admirers?"

The airship jolted suddenly, shaking its passengers as it ground to a halt. "Get out," Luneth growled. "We're walking the rest of the way."

"You know that means a longer time with her," Arc whispered.

"What!?" Refia jumped to her feet, racing to the wheel. "No way! There are Bugbears out there, and..."

Luneth drew his longsword, leveling it out to point directly at the girl's chest. "Luneth!" Arc tugged at his friend's tunic frantically. "What are you doing?"

"Apologize to Arc. You hurt his feelings, and made him apologize to you. Now say you're sorry! Right now!" The boy's lips curled into a snarl.

Refia backed away uneasily. "All right. But I... Sorry, Arc. It's not your fault. It's your idiotic fr-" Luneth thrust his blade forward, and Refia dashed for the door. "I'm going, I'm going!"

…

The trek through the forest was long and hard. Arc would point out the silhouettes of monsters in the underbrush, and the three would take detours to avoid them. Luneth was suddenly in high spirits, only making Refia even more uneasy.

"Look!" Luneth cried suddenly. "Those Bugbears don't see us yet, Arc! We could try for a primitive attack!"

Arc looked where his friend was pointing and trembled. "For starters, I call it a preemptive strike, and for your information, I'm not going anywhere near those things."

"Aww, come on. It'll only take a minute," Luneth begged. "They'll never see us coming!"

Refia shook her head slowly, trying to tell the boys that she wasn't up to the task either.

"Plus, Refia doesn't want to do it," Luneth continued, ignoring Arc. "So that means we have to!"

His companions moaned, but he darted forwards anyway. Raising his blades, the silver-haired boy slashed through each bear he encountered. Arc and Refia watched in silent horror as the Bugbears fell one by one.

Arc nodded slowly. "Ah, I understand now. He wanted to practice out here. Luneth really takes his practicing seriously. Sometimes I think it makes him feel better."

Refia stared at him. "You mean, he actually likes life-or-death situations like this? Why in Kazus would your idiot friend want to put it all on the line for a little training?"

"Hm, you say, 'Why in Kazus,' huh. That's cute." Arc giggled.

Refia turned away from the obvious lunatic and looked around for the obvious idiot. "Whatever. Hey, your friend's about to get killed out there."

"WHAT!?" Arc looked about frantically. "He's always too reckless! If one of those bears got a back attack on him... Uh, where is he?"

Refia shrugged. "I don't know. That's why I thought he was getting killed. People always die far away from the rest of humanity."

"Oh, shut up." Arc marched farther into the woods, tugging at brambles that entangled themselves in his pants. "Luneth! Where'd you go? Luneth!"

Arc whipped around to a rustle in the bushes. "Oh, there you are. You had me worried for a... a..."

"A WEREWOLF!" Refia shrieked, scrambling after Arc to pull him out of the monster's line of sight. But it was too late. The beast swung its head around to snarl at the two. Specks of saliva splattered on their faces, leaving behind the putrid scent of rotten meat.

"LUNETH!" Arc turned to run, screaming his friend's name. Spotting an opening, the beast lunged at the boy's back.

Refia hugged Arc close, as if she could protect him fron the gaping jaws by simply being there. "Luneth! I'm sorry! I'm sorry you're an overreacting jerk! Please come back!"

As if in slow motion, the monster's claws grew closer, its mouth agape to shred them apart. Then a streak of motion, the sound of claws sinking into flesh, and Refia collapsed.

I actually did get my party of Arc and Luneth killed by two werewolves the first time I tried the game... it was pitiful.